Hiring of Todd Bowles Continues Positive Momentum for Floundering New York Jets

The New York Jets have become something of a punchline in the NFL in recent years, a team known more for locker-room rifts and sideshow signings than for winning football games.

Well, after jettisoning both head coach Rex Ryan and general manager John Idzik following a miserable 4-12 season, the Jets have made a couple of moves that should leave fans of Gang Green smiling, instead of being chuckled at.

Amid reports that Mike Maccagnan will be the team's new general manager, ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted Tuesday night that the team has settled on a new head coach:

Todd Bowles, who spent the past two seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals, is something of a surprise hire. That's because over the last week or so, much of the scuttlebutt surrounding the Jets head-coaching vacancy has settled on Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, especially after former Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone fell out of favor with the team.

However, Bowles' candidacy gained momentum in recent days, in part because with the Seahawks still in the playoffs, Quinn can't yet be interviewed. Bowles was in the Big Apple to meet with Maccagnan on Tuesday, and it would appear that meeting went well.

And that's good news for the Jets, because in some respects, Bowles is a better fit in New York than Quinn.

In many ways, Quinn and Bowles are like-minded, and the pair even share some similarities with Rex Ryan. All three are highly innovative defensive gurus who have had great success in that regard at the NFL level. All three also have a reputation for being able to maximize the potential of their personnel on that side of the ball.

Bowles was the architect of a Cardinals defense that helped carry the team to an 11-5 finish and a Wild Card Round appearance in 2014. The Arizona defense ranked ninth in the NFL this season, and while that ranking might not seem worthy of overly high praise, the totality of the circumstances has to be considered.

The Arizona defense lost both starting linebackers from 2013 (Daryl Washington and Karlos Dansby) before the season even started. Defensive end Darnell Dockett (one of the team's best run-defenders) didn't make it out of the preseason in 2014. Outside linebacker John Abraham, who led the team in sacks two years ago, appeared in a single game. Safety Tyrann Mathieu was a shell of the electrifying rookie we saw in 2013 for most of the season as he recovered from a torn ACL.

Simply put, Bowles took lemons and made delicious lemonade. It was a coaching job that earned him the respect of his players:

And his boss, Bruce Arians:

And members of the media:

Including Bleacher Report's own Nick Kostos:

Where Bowles might actually be a better fit than Quinn lies in scheming. While Quinn is a proponent of the 4-3 "under" front that Gus Bradley parlayed into a head-coaching gig in Jacksonville, Bowles ran the 3-4 in the desert.

To his credit, Bowles is also flexible, having run the "wide-nine" 4-3 front in Philadelphia as an interim defensive coordinator in 2012.

Still, given his pick, Bowles prefers an attacking 3-4 defense featuring a lot of A-gap blitzing from the inside linebackers.

In other words, a defense that is significantly more similar to Ryan's than Quinn's. A defense for which the Jets already have the personnel in place up front. A defense that won't require the sort of major changes that also bring with them major growing pains.

Granted, this doesn't mean that hiring Todd Bowles is an automatic, absolute, can't-miss, home run (insert whatever metaphor you feel comfortable with). More than one brilliant coordinator has turned out to be a so-so head coach at best.

In fact, there are those who would say that about Ryan, but don't tell the Buffalo Bills.

Then there's the matter of hiring another defensive coach. Ryan was done in by the fact that he wasn't able to improve the Jets on offense. The team finished 2014 ranked 22nd in total offense. No team in the league struggled more throwing the ball this year.

It appears that Bowles already has someone in mind to run his offense:

Stop groaning. As Benjamin Allbright pointed out, Gailey's NFL struggles usually didn't occur until he reached the big chair:

And if Gailey was a rotten offensive coordinator, it's rather unlikely he'd have gotten a second try at that big chair at all.

Never mind that if the Jets could have gotten those sorts of numbers out of Geno Smith or Mike Vick, Ryan might still have a job in the big city instead of in the boondocks.

I kid, Buffalo, I kid. Put the pitchfork down. Marrone's gone. Just be happy about that.

Of course, the best staff in the history of the NFL will only be of so much good if the Jets don't upgrade their personnel in the secondary and on offense.

However, that's not Bowles' problem. It's Maccagnan's.

Jets fans can only hope that Maccagnan does as well in adding those personnel as he did in picking the team's new head coach.

Because in hiring Todd Bowles to help lead them from the AFC East basement, the Jets got this one right.

Gary Davenport is an NFL Analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter @IDPManor.